Hundreds of Saint John Sea Dogs fans took to the streets Thursday afternoon to celebrate their hometown team.
The Sea Dogs captured the 2022 Memorial Cup on Wednesday in a 6-3 victory over the Hamilton Bulldogs of the Ontario Hockey League.
To properly celebrate winning the trophy at home, the team toured Uptown for a celebratory parade.
Read more:
Saint John Sea Dogs skate over Hamilton Bulldogs 6-3 to win Memorial Cup
“I am overwhelmed with joy and excitement. It’s unbelievable, the Sea Dogs, to win the Memorial Cup for the second time, but to win it at home,” an overjoyed fan told Global News.
Split into two groups, half the team piled into an old-school Saint John fire truck, while the remaining team members climbed into a Canadian Coast Guard boat, being towed by a vehicle.
Together, the two vehicles traveled down King Street to Area 506’s Waterfront Container Village.
“A great way to celebrate victory with the community, and there were a lot of families there today, and it was great to continue that success,” resident Wendy Anderson said of the parade.
After Wednesday night’s victory, the Sea Dogs are now two-time Memorial Cup champions, with their previous win coming in 2011.
Speaking to a large crowd Thursday, Saint John Sea Dogs president and general manager Trevor Georgie said they could probably use a third Memorial Cup, hinting his team will be back in the hunt next season.
Read more:
Memorial Cup helping to bring new life to Saint John
“These guys here represent for me what San Juan is. They’re resilient, they’re passionate, they wear their heart on their sleeve, they’ve been through ups and downs, but boy, boy, these last 10 days, this city has been on fire,” Georgie said.
Hosting the illustrious tournament has meant that the city of Saint John has received national coverage in recent days, which many believe has cast a positive light on the region.
“We’ve been calling it Palm Springs of the East,” Georgie noted.
“But you know what? After yesterday, Palm Springs is San Juan del Oeste.”
The Sea Dogs are the first team to capture the Memorial Cup since 2019 and the first host team to do so since 2017.
© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.